Advertisement

Roasted fillet of white sea bass en escabeche

Time1 hour 10 minutes
YieldsServes 8
Roasted fillet of white sea bass en escabeche
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Share
Print RecipePrint Recipe

When I’ve got a big group of friends coming over for dinner, I’ll usually prepare a roast. Frankly, I’ll do the same thing even if I’m only cooking for our family of four. First, preparing large roasts is easier than cooking several individual portions. And a well-rested and properly cooked roast is a delicious thing. Then, of course, bringing a big roast to the table is great theater. (Ever hear of Lawry’s? Yeah, I thought you might have.)

Here’s the catch: That roast had better be perfect. Present a roast that winds up being medium-well when sliced and your next dinner party will be more intimate than you might prefer. To make sure my roasts are exactly as done as I want them, I use a slightly different technique than you might be used to.

Even better, it works perfectly for fish. And nice as a standing rib roast might be, a perfectly roasted whole fillet of salmon, white sea bass or swordfish is really something special.

Where to begin? Well, at the fish market, of course. You’re looking for something wild, sustainable, meaty and large. Start by asking for local white sea bass, California swordfish, Pacific king salmon or wild striped bass from the East Coast. Allow 6 to 8 ounces of fish per guest, and ask your fishmonger to give you the top half of the fillet.

Fillets from large fish have two distinct halves: top and bottom, or back and belly, you might say. You’ll want the top or back loin. If you’re cooking swordfish, you’ll just need a nice long piece of the loin. You can ask the fishmonger to leave the skin on or you can have it removed. If he’s already removing the skin, ask the fishmonger to remove the bloodline as well.

Before cooking, brine the fish in a 5% salt solution for an hour. Then pat it dry and hold it in the refrigerator for at least six hours or overnight before cooking to set the surface of the meat.

An hour before you’re ready to cook, remove the fish from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. At the same time, heat your oven to 300 degrees.

When you’re ready to cook, gently heat a pan large enough to hold the fillet. Season the fillet with sea salt and Espelette pepper. Add olive oil to the pan along with butter. When the butter begins to foam, add the seasoned fillet along with garlic cloves and thyme, which will flavor the butter and the fish at the same time. (Incidentally, the butter, with the addition of a little lemon juice or vinegar, makes for a great simple sauce.)

Be sure the pan doesn’t get too hot. Watch the color of the butter; it’s a a great indicator of temperature. Too hot and the butter will brown too quickly and burn; too cold and you’ll get no color at all.

Add the fish, and as the temperature of the pan rises, lower the flame to moderate the heat. After two or three minutes carefully flip the fillet over. Cook the second side for an additional three minutes, basting with butter while it cooks. You are not looking for dark color. If the fillet is too deeply browned, the pan was too hot and the fillet will toughen.

Remove the fillet to a rack set on a baking sheet. Let it rest for three minutes, then check the internal temperature of the fish using a thermometer. Depending on the thickness of the fillet and the temperature of your kitchen, you will most likely find the internal temperature is around 100 degrees.

Brush the fish with a little softened salted butter and place the fish in a 300-degree oven for three minutes. Remove it, rest the fish for three minutes and take the temperature again. You get the point. Roast and rest the fish in three-minute intervals until it reaches 118 degrees.

If you think this process seems a little obsessive, well, you’re right. But it delivers, and that’s the point.

In fact, I use much the same technique when I’m roasting meat. You just stretch out the roasting and resting times to, say, 20 minutes on and off for something like a standing rib roast.

Will it take a bit longer than blasting the roast at a constant 450 degrees? Yes. Will the results be much better? Absolutely.

Cimarusti is the chef and owner at Providence and at Connie and Ted’s.

Advertisement

Escabeche sauce

1

Roast the peppers: Place the red bell, poblano and Anaheim peppers on a rack over the flame of a stove-top burner (the restaurant chars the peppers using a blowtorch). Roast the peppers, turning to quickly char and blacken the skin on all sides (while the skin will char, the flesh should not cook); this will need to be done in batches until all of the peppers are done. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, rub the charred skin off of the peppers using kitchen or paper towels. Seed the peppers and cut each into strips. Set aside.

2

In a saucepot, heat one-fourth cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the chile flakes and bouquet garni, along with a pinch of salt, and stir well.

3

Add the red wine vinegar to the pan and increase the heat to high. Cook until the vinegar is reduced completely, 3 to 5 minutes.

4

Add the julienned peppers, stirring to coat them completely with oil. Season with a pinch of salt and reduce the heat. Stir in the tomatoes and season with another pinch of salt. As the tomatoes cook, they will release their juices to form a sauce.

5

Stir in the broth and bring the sauce to a simmer, cooking just to marry the flavors (the vegetables should keep their crunch).

6

Remove from heat and strain the escabeche through a colander. Spread the escabeche vegetables out onto a rimmed baking sheet to cool quickly (refrigerate if making a day in advance). Place the sauce back in the pan over medium-high heat and reduce by half. Remove from heat and, using an immersion blender, slowly emulisfy the sauce while adding the remaining one-fourth cup olive oil.

7

Cool the sauce completely and refrigerate until needed. The sauce is best made a day in advance to give the flavors time to marry.

Roasted fillet of sea bass in escabeche

1

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Season the fish on both sides with a light sprinkling of salt and espellette pepper.

2

Over medium heat, warm a sauté pan large enough to hold the fillet of fish. Add enough oil to coat the surface of the pan and add 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter starts to foam, carefully place the fillet in the pan. Add the garlic cloves and branch of thyme.

3

Cook the fish over medium heat until it is light golden in color, 3 to 4 minutes. Be very careful as the fish cooks that the pan does not get too hot and the butter does not brown too much; the fish should be tender, and heat that is too high will toughen the fillet.

4

Carefully flip the fillet, using 2 fish spatulas if needed. Cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes. As the fish cooks, gently baste it with the fat in the pan, spooning over the oil and butter to keep the fish moist as it cooks.

5

Remove the fish from the pan to a cooling rack placed on a rimmed baking sheet. Set the fish aside to rest for 3 minutes, then take the internal temperature with a thermometer. The internal temperature should read 118 degrees. If the temperature is too low, brush the fish with the softened butter and place the fish in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove the fish from the oven and rest again for 3 minutes before taking the temperature. Repeat this process until the fish reaches 118 degrees.

6

Strain the cooking juices from the pan, discarding the garlic and thyme and reserve for sauce.

7

Before serving the fish, reheat the escabeche, adding a touch more olive oil and a bit of lemon juice and/or red wine vinegar to enhance the flavors, along with the chopped parsley. Reheat the sauce, checking for seasoning and flavoring.

8

To serve, slice the warmed fish into 8 portions. Place the escabeche on a warmed serving platter and arrange the fish portions on top. Spoon a bit more over the fish. Serve the cooking sauce at the table.

The fish is brined using a 5% solution, or 50 grams salt (a scant ¼ cup) to 600 grams water (a generous 2¼ cups) and 400 grams ice cubes (a scant 4 cups), for about 1 hour, then refrigerated until ready to cook. Before cooking, rest the fish at room temperature for about an hour to temper. The method is described in Cimarusti’s first Master Class article on brining.